Tourist Arrivals Increase But Yet to Reach the Pre-Pandemic Level

Nepal saw more foreign visitors in August this year compared to that in the same month last year. But, the arrivals have yet to reach the pre-pandemic level, data from the Department of Immigration show. 

A total of 72,719 foreign visitors came to Nepal in August, an 8.29% rise to that in the same period last year. As many as  67,153 tourists visited Nepal in August last year.

The total arrival last month is, however, 76.75% of that in August, 2019.

Over 1.19 million tourists had visited the country in 2019, with 94,749 in August alone, before the Covid pandemic brought the world to a standstill.

The tourist arrival dropped significantly to 230,085 in 2020 and plunged further to 150,962 in 2021.

As countries started reopening their borders with a decline in Covid cases and availability of vaccines, the arrival of foreign visitors increased to 614,869 in 2022.

Last year, the country welcomed slightly over a million tourists.

The arrival last month was once again dominated by the visitors from SAARC countries, with 25,832 or 35.5% from India alone.

After Indians, most of the visitors were from China, America, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The country also saw nearly 10,000 visitors from European countries last month.